Israel has been hit by its worst ever environmental crisis as millions of litres of crude oil gushed out of a pipeline to flood 200 acres of a desert nature reserve, officials said.

More than 80 people have been taken to hospital with breathing difficulties after the oil spill which happened during maintenance work on the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, on Wednesday night.

Officials say rehabilitation of the area could take months, even years, as the spill stretched to 'a couple of kilometers long' and reached the Evrona nature reserve, close to the Jordan border.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the pipeline burst after a new section was struck accidentally during maintenance work, according to The Times of Israel.

Millions of litres of crude oil have gushed out of a pipeline to flood 200 acres of a desert nature reserve in southern Israel, officials said

Environmental workers inspect damage after an oil spill of thousands of cubic meters close to Beer Oral, just north of the Red Sea resort city of Eilat

Ronen Moshe, from the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company (EAPC) said: 'The leak has been stopped', adding that a full investigation was under way to determine the cause of the spill.

Firefighters and environmental groups scrambled to the scene in an attempt to seal the puncture in the pipeline and prevent further contamination, which was described as 'considerable' by Guy Samet, the director of the southern region in the Environmental Protection Ministry.

'This is one of the largest [environmental] events in the history of the country,' Mr Samet said.

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'We're talking about thousands of gallons of crude oil, which will endanger local wildlife and the surrounding nature reserve,' he said, adding that rehabilitation could take 'years.'

Doron Nissim from Israel's Nature and Parks Authority said the black slick had run and pooled in ravines, but it appears to have spared the 4,250-acre Evrona reserve's rare deer and douma palms.

He said there was no doubt that 'insects and other crawling animals have been harmed', but there was little chance of the oil sluicing to Eilat and endangering Red Sea marine life because of the absence of heavy rainfall.

The leak was stopped before the torrent of oil could cross the nearby Jordanian border, Israel's Environment Ministry said.

An aerial photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection shows a large oil spillage caused by an oil pipeline that breached during maintenace work

The leak was stopped before the torrent of oil could cross the nearby Jordanian border, Israel's Environment Ministry said

Environment Ministry official Guy Samet estimated the spillage at millions of litres, telling Israel Radio: 'Rehabilitation will take months, if not years'

Civil defence officials in Amman said several Jordanians had gone to hospital as a precaution after smelling the fumes, but had not required treatment.

The main road leading to Eilat from central Israel was closed intermittently and the Environment Ministry advised the town to cancel a triathlon that was due to take athletes through the contaminated area.

Mr Nissim said pools of oil would probably be drained with suction equipment, and contaminated earth might also be removed.

In Jordan more than 80 people were hospitalised, including 30 workers at Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport.

On the Israeli side, at least three people were treated by paramedics after they inhaled poisonous gases.

The pipeline, which stretches between Eilat on the Red Sea to Ashkelon on the Mediterranean, was built in the 1960s to bring Iranian oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe.

Since the severing of relations between Iran and Israel after 1979 Islamic Revolution it has been mostly used to move oil within Israel.

The spillage happened during maintenance work on the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, north of the Red Sea resort of Eilat, on Wednesday night

Pools of oil will be drained with suction equipment, and contaminated earth might also be removed, according to officials

The Environment Ministry advised the town to cancel a triathlon that was due to take athletes through the contaminated area

Firefighters and environmental groups scrambled to the scene in an attempt to seal the puncture in the pipeline and prevent further contamination

A preliminary investigation indicated that the pipeline burst after a new section was struck accidentally during maintenance work